OTTAWA, ONTARIO – Ottawa  family dentistry keeps teeth and gums healthy for life, but let’s remember that teeth aren’t the only factor affecting your bite.

General and cosmetic dentists focus mainly on the teeth, the gums, and sometimes the bones. Neuromuscular dentistry focuses on aligning the jaw into its ideal place, and to do so, dentists must manipulate not only teeth, but muscles, tissues, nerves, and the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

TMJ Disorders
The TMJ connects the lower jawbone to the skull. Humans have two TMJs, one on each side of the face. Sometimes TMJ disorders are incorrectly called TMJ; the correct term would be TMD, for temporomandibular joint disorder.

Occlusion is the term for how your upper and lower teeth come together. If the teeth and jaws are out of line, we call this malocclusion – bad bite. Malocclusion can cause patients to develop TMJ disorders. If the jaw muscles are being overworked, they can start to spasm.

Signs and Symptoms

People experiencing pain or locking in their jaws may suspect a TMJ disorder, but some symptoms can be even more subtle. Some patients develop pain in their backs and necks. Other symptoms include facial swelling, numb fingertips, recurring ringing of the ears, dizziness and tender teeth. If your jaw clicks when you open and close it, this could be a sign of TMJ syndrome. In some patients, the pain associated with TMD can be misidentified as an earache, as the TMJ is so close to the ear. Serious headaches can cause patients pain, when the real problem is in the joint of their jaws.

Neuromuscular Dentistry
Dr. David Bartos and Dr. Mark Northcott focus on the niche field of neuromuscular dentistry. In their Ontario offices, the dentists can significantly change your bite, moving your jaw to its prime position. To accurately evaluate your mouth, we will first need to see your muscles and bones in an inactive position. Using the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS), we relax the muscles in your face and jaw. Once your jaw is completely rested, we use the Myotronics K7 system to take detailed dimensions of your mouth and jaw, allowing us to capture the perfect measurements to treat your TMJ disorder. After we’ve successfully measured the movement of your mouth and jaw, we’ll create a custom mouthpiece – or orthotic – just for you. This mouthpiece will gradually move your jaw to the correct position. After the orthotic has improved your bite, there are usually other options available, including orthodontics and recontouring of the teeth.

Drs. Bartos and Northcott are passionate about their work in neuromuscular dentistry.

“Being able to practice this type of dentistry is professionally very satisfying because we can change a person’s life,” says Dr. Bartos. We can take a chronic pain patient who suffers from debilitating headaches or neck and back pain, or one of the other symptoms associated with TMD, and return them to a normal way of life. That’s a real privilege.”

The process of eliminating pain and TMJ disorders isn’t a quick one. Once the orthotic has gently moved your bite to its ideal placement, we can then implement restoration dentistry to further improve your bite. By slightly altering your bite with the use of bonding, crowns or implants, we can put the finishing touches on your occlusion, thereby eradicating your TMJ-related pain. Patients need not suffer from TMJ problems, as neuromuscular dentistry is effective in solving these painful issues.

The Trillium Dental team also offers in-office teeth whitening, dental implants, root canal treatments, routine cleanings, and general, restorative, and cosmetic dentistry procedures. If you’re apprehensive about our procedures or suffer from severe dental phobia, we offer the option of IV sedation for your visit.

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